Hunter's Hickok
by essenceofsparkle
Summary: Jimmy is headed for a lot of trouble, and some secrets of the past will be revealed as well.


Aloysius Hunter always preferred to be called by his old nickname, Teaspoon. He thought that Aloysius, or even Mr. Hunter made him sound like like his father, or worse yet, an old man. Well, he could not refuse that he had, over the years, gained more than just a few gray hairs. But he was far from being old. Why, he felt like a young colt on the first day of summer. Once, he had heard the saying that a man is only as young as he feels. So, by that reasoning, Teaspoon figured he was far from being an old man.

Sitting down on the bed in the tackroom, which also doubled as his bedroom, attached to the stable of the Pony Express station in Sweetwater, Teaspoon pondered over the events of the day. As he pulled his boots off of his feet, the thought occurred to him that he might just have bitten off more than he could chew. When he had been offered the job as stationmaster for a Pony Express station, he had jumped at the opportunity. It was something new, and a chance for adventure. Teaspoon had always enjoyed a good challenge. An other factor in his decision was that he had been married a grand total of six times, yet neither of those marriages had brought him any children of his own. Therefore, the thought of passing on his knowledge to a younger generation appealed to him.

There was something in particular about one of his charges which he couldn't quite place. It was the cocky one with the gun hanging low on his hip. At the moment Teaspoon couldn't quite recall his name, he had never been very good with names. But there was something very familiar about him. Something in his face and in the way he carried himself. Shaking it off as his mind playing tricks on him, Teaspoon pulled the blanket up over his shoulders and turned in for the night. The day had been long, and his body longed for rest. Perhaps he wasn't that young after all.

The following morning, when Teaspoon woke, he could not for the life of him remember what the dream had been about. In the dream, everything had been so livid, almost like reality. But now it was long gone. There was only one thing he knew for certain – there was something important he had to remember. It had something to do with a woman, someone from his past. That had been an easy statement to make for a man who had been married six times and for a man who had had more lovers than he could count with his fingers. Who was the woman he had to remember? And why? Perhaps time would tell. Teaspoon shook his head and hoped the answer would, in time, come to him.

In silence he got up, dressed and thought himself ready to start the second day of his new life.

Sitting down at the end of the large table in the middle of the bunkhouse, the only sounds heard came from the newly made Pony Express riders complaining. There were muttering about sore bottoms and of being worked to death. Teaspoon smiled a secret smile as all this had been his intention. Yesterday, he had run them hard because he wanted to find out from the start which one of them were cut out for the job. If one of them weren't, it would be better to let them go right away before he invested too much time and effort in their training. Looking out over the table, Teaspoon was certain he had a fine bunch of boys working under his command. Right now, they were a little rough around the edges, but soon enough, they would learn and become polished.

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, Teaspoon looked out at the room, again assessing each and every person.

Buck Cross was a half-breed Kiowa. Teaspoon knew he had been raised by his tribe, but had for some reason decided he was better off I the white world. Teaspoon couldn't say he understood this. Most Indian tribes took kinder to half-breeds than people in the white world. It seemed like human nature to be frightened of anything and anyone differing from the norm. Teaspoon had to wonder about the boy's past. The day before he had even asked, though the only reply he had been offered was that it was his time to leave the village. Buck had said it with sadness in his eyes. Almost like he had wanted to stay in the village, but had been forced to leave. Teaspoon could see that Buck had more than enough fight in him, so he had a feeling he was going to survive.

Buck didn't talk much. Come to think about it, Teaspoon had never heard Buck utter a single word unless it was answering a question or if it was something the young man thought important. Smart boy, Teaspoon thought. Though he had to admit he was worried. It seemed he had no desire to get to know the others. If they were to work and live together, getting to know each other was alpha and omega.

Ike McSwain was Buck's best friend. From the way Teaspoon saw the relationship between the two young men, they were more like brothers than simply good friends. The old man did not have to wonder why that was. As a child, Ike had suffered from scarlet fever, and lost both his hair and his voice. Buck had been the one to offer Ike a way to communicate with the world. Experiences like that tended to create bonds thicker than blood.

One of Teaspoon's wives had been Indian so Teaspoon knew sign language. The day before, he had been told by Ike that the two met up at a Catholic mission school when they were both 13 or thereabout. Ike had been 13 at the time, no one knew how old Buck was. The Kiowa did not keep calendars with days and months, so Buck had no idea how old he was, only that he had been born in the winter. That would make him either 16 or 17, Teaspoon figuresd

William Frederick Cody had quickly established himself in the role of the resident loudmouth and a teller of tall tales. With the young man being so extroverted, Teaspoon had a feeling Cody would be the backbone among the guys. He was one of those types who had the ability to get along with everyone, and hopefully that would rub off on the rest of the gang.

There was something about Cody character which made Teaspoon foresee great things in his future. The young man reminded Teaspoon of a younger version of himself. Less than half of what he said seemed to be true. The rest, it seemed, was made up on the spot. Teaspoon had to admit that even through the blond-haired man never kept his mouth shut, he had taken a liking to him. Cody was the kind of person who could glue a group of friends together. Even though he had only known Cody for a day, Teaspoon knew Cody was the kind of person who could, and would, bring out the best in people.

Lou McCloud sat quietly next to Cody, and he only sometimes smiled at the other man's many antics. If there was one of them Teaspoon had any doubts about keeping on, it would have to be Lou. Some boys took a little longer to grow, but this young man was just pure puny. Short and skinny, seemingly unsure of himself as he always seemed to be hiding one step behind the rest. Even though Lou McCloud was short and skinny for his age, he made up for it by being wiry and strong. The only reason Teaspoon thought it was a good idea to keep him on was that Lou had proved his doubts wrong. He could ride as well, and hold himself as well as a man twice his size.

The Kid was also of the quiet sort. He kept to himself, but was a hard worker and not afraid of getting his hands dirty. He could tell from the accent he tried to hide that the young man was southern. For someone so young, Teaspoon thought he must have traveled a long way from home. Either he was running from something, or he was just looking for adventure out in the west. Hopefully, he weren't running, but Kid didn't seem like the adventuring kind. The simple fact that Kid hadn't revealed his full name had Teaspoon his doubts. Whatever he was running from, Teaspoon hoped it wouldn't make an appearance in Sweetwater.

James Butler Hickok sat next to Kid, grumbling something about being overworked and aching muscles that he previously did not know the existence of. It was when he noticed Teaspoon entering the room, that he fell silent. This was the young man Teaspoon thought there were something familiar with. If he could just place him. It could just have been someone he had met in passing.

"Buck, could you pass the biscuits, please," Teaspoon asked the man sitting next to him. Buck reached out to hand the plate over to his boss.

Emma Shannon was the cook and housekeeper at the station, and had from the very beginning proclaimed herself as the mother of the enterprise. Teaspoon had a feeling she would also function as a mother for the boys. The company had preferred to hire orphans, after all, it was a dangerous job. Even though they may not all have lost their parents, it was a reason why they were here. Emma would be a good support for them.

As Emma noticed Teaspoon making a move for the biscuits, the promptly knocked it out of his hand. He looked startled as he was just about to take a bite out of one. "You are not having a bite to eat until you've said grace."

There was little Teaspoon could say or do, except mumble a "Yes, ma'am." Yes, Teaspoon thought. Emma would be a good influence on them all. Especially for those of them who didn't have a mother growing up.

During the meal, Teaspoon could not help but to look over at Jimmy, wondering what it was about it that seemed so familiar. He couldn't recall having seen Jimmy before. Normally, Teaspoon was fairly good at remembering faces, but there was just something about the young man that eluded him. Teaspoon had no choice but to reconcile himself with the fact that he had forgotten what it was about Jimmy that seemed so familiar and why he wasn't able to put his finger on it.


End file.
